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rob61872
B.V. Info-a-holic
Joined: Oct 10, 2001
Posts: 13684
Location: With JRZGRL
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 Posted: Thu Aug 22, 2002 8:10 am Post subject: DNA Test Tells Fine Wine from Cheap |
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http://reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=sciencenews&StoryID=1357148
DNA Test Tells Fine Wine from Cheap
August 21, 2002 03:17 PM ET
By Paul Carrel
PARIS (Reuters) - As the French wine trade recovers from a damaging fake vintage scandal, scientists say they have developed a DNA test to tell whether a top wine is what it makes itself out to be -- or has been diluted with inferior wine.
By analysing the DNA of the grapes used to make wine in France, scientists at the National Institute of Agronomic Research (INRA) say they can build a genetic picture of a wine.
\"There are about 45 different varieties (of grape) that are used in France. We can identify all of them,\" INRA scientist Patrice This told Reuters on Wednesday.
\"It is mainly the Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc grapes that are used in Bordeaux. We should be able to tell if a wine contains a different grape,\" This said.
Such a test could have prevented a fraud unearthed this year in which a wine merchant was reaping profits by blending lesser quality wines with those from the renowned Bordeaux region and selling them as fine Bordeaux reds.
Jacques Hemmer was given an 18-month prison sentence in May and ordered to pay fines totaling over one million euros. The affair was embarrassing for Bordeaux, the world\'s largest top-quality wine producing area, whose reputation is all.
With their test, the INRA scientists say they can analyze wines made from a single grape or a blend of two grapes. They are confident they could soon test blends made with more than two grapes -- as is sometimes the case in the Bordeaux region.
INRA\'s This is working with anti-fraud officers to develop their test, which so far only works on unpurified produce held in vats, so it can be used to analyze bottled wines.
Such a refined test could be ready in two to three years\' time, This said, and could be used by French wine merchants as a stamp of the quality of their produce as they battle to defend their market share from competitive New World wines.
NEW WORLD THREAT
New World producers in countries such as Australia, New Zealand, the United States and South Africa pose a growing threat to the French wine industry\'s export markets.
Regulations for those wines are often not as strict as in France. By running their wines through a DNA test, French producers could offer a guarantee of their quality.
\"This will enable producers to tell consumers an extra check has been carried out on their wine, and that it is really made, for example, with Cabernet Sauvignon,\" This said.
The DNA test does have restrictions, however. The INRA scientists cannot tell when a wine was produced, or in which region. And while they can tell which grapes are in a given blend, they cannot tell the proportions used of each.
While some say the ultimate test of a wine\'s quality is taste, the DNA analysis marks a big step in verifying whether a wine is what it actually claims to be -- currently determined largely by inspection of the wine inventories of producers.
\"This is very important because it is reliable,\" Marie Taillarb, spokeswoman for French competition, consumption and anti-fraud agency DGCCRF, which carried out some 26,000 checks across France in its battle against wine fraud last year.
\"This will act as a deterrent because professionals will know that our analyzes are reliable,\" Taillarb said.
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